Besides worms can my dogs contract a serious illness from rolling in a dead animal or catching mice and such? And by the way I do not want to get rid of my dogs or put them to sleep because of this. I simply want to know the reasons behind this behaviour and any concerns that I should have.

It is entirely possible for your dogs to catch tapeworms from eating wild critters (heartworm????), but I have never heard of a dog catching anything from rolling in stuff. Though, I am sure it's entirely possible to contract mange or mites and such....but, who am I? I don't know for sure, though. I'm just talking off the top of my head here.

As far as bad habits, it's true that the vast majority of dogs that are surrendered to shelters are given up due to "behavior problems". I'm certain that only a tiny percentage of those are genetic disorders. Probably most of them for things like digging, barking, and escaping I imagine.

The dog has to ingest the flea in order to get tape worm. Heart worm is transferred from the bite of a mosquito. I dont know if it can be transferred any other way. Ground hogs (woodchucks) are carriers. We hunt hogs alot and I have never heard of anyone having a heartworm problem from them. As far as getting rid of dogs just because the do what dogs do really sucks. My wife and I do a lot of gardening and a shovel to a hunt terrier is like a shotgun to a bird dog. If I plant a new rose bush or just dig in my compost pile the dogs have to be put up. If they find the new plant within a few days of putting it in, they will dig it up for sure. 6-7 yrs ago when I had to bury an old dog, I was bummed out and didn't put the other ones up. You guessed it! that is what terriers do. They Dig like deamons. To ask why They roll in carrion, crap, etc, kill innocent bunnies and birds. They are dogs. Even though I am new to this board, I can probably speak for most everyone and say "We love them BECAUSE of their instincts and behaviors." Some instincts are just a little less lovable than others. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

This thread is more of a health thread so I am going to move it to that section.